One of the best decisions I ever made during this trip was to take up a cooking class with Puspa. I managed to escape the tourist route (although this cooking class is a popular tourist activity) to spend some time in a quiet village just a few minutes outside of Ubud’s commercial area. The tour appropriately began at the market where Puspa met us and introduced us to local produce and ingredients. Nyoman, Puspa’s husband, met our group at the farm where he gave us an introduction into village life in Bali. In Bali, every villager is given a patch of land to farm but farming, as an activity, is communal. It was harvest season and some of the rice stalks were just reaped. Ducks roamed freely, pecking at stray grains. The highlight of the course, of course, is the cooking class with Puspa. She introduced us to local ingredients and showed us the proper way to prepare them for cooking. I had my first taste of tempe, which I now love! To read more about my Bali experience, go tohttp://travelswithgusto.tumblr.com/post/16113514307/bali-with-gusto-paon-cooking-school

A wonderful morning spent with Wayan and Puspa. I would recommend this cooking class to anyone visiting Ubud in Bali.

After a merket tour and an introduction to Balinese rice harvesting and culture, our hosts made us feel very welcome in their home! The cooking was structured and although there wasnt a cooking station for each person as some other cooking classes do, it was easy to follow and everyone got a chance to get stuck in and have a go.

The dishes we cooked were delicious and we all got a chance to sample our wares. I have already recreated all but one of the dishes back home for a dinner party - which high praise from my guests!

Cannot recommend this enough! Thank you for a lovely day!

This is a must if you are interested in tasting real Balinese food. We have had a truly wonderful time! Pupsa and her husband Wayan are great hosts and will make every effort to make you feel welcome.
As I had not tasted a Durian yet, Pupsa went ahead and graciously purchased one for me, so that I could try it, right there at the market. She gave a truthful explanation of the different qualities of sarongs (printed sarong material, low and high quality ikat), and showed us around Ubud market.
The kitchen in her house is just beautiful, very airy, very clean with strict observance to food hygiene. Puspa loves what she does and it shows in how she prepares the food how she teaches and how she arranges the food for her guests. This is a hands-on cooking class and everybody gets to do something in the process.
Highly recommended if you love to taste and prepare true Balinese food!

My husband and I booked this class because of the fabulous reviews on Tripadvisor and it lived up to all the hype! Puspa recommended a driver who picked us up from our resort in Kuta and took us straight to Ubud markets- it ended up being cheaper than the hotel could offer... The market tour was informative and interesting, as was Wayan at the rice fields! The whole day was great and the food was fantastic! I love that we were given copies of the recipes to take home- totally intend on having ago at some of the dishes! Couldn't recommend this experience more highly! It was awesome! Thanks to Puspa and Wayan and all the helpers!